IAQ Beyond the Pandemic

I received a Ph.D. related to fine dust and air quality and have been working at LG Electronics ever since, focusing primarily on the research of air purification technology along with the development of core components and product application technology such as air filters.

In particular, I was working on the establishment of the industry’s first Air Science Lab. In 2018 as we strengthened our capabilities in R&D related to the transmission of indoor air pollutants.

Outside of our own R&D, I also serve as a board member of the Korean Society for Indoor Environment and the Korean Association for Particle and Aerosol Research and I also attended the Air Purifier Standard Enactment at IEC in order to further progress the standard of our products to meet our customers’ needs.

The atmospheric fine dust forecast began in Korea in 2015, and since that time, attention given to indoor air quality has continued to rise dramatically. Concerns have also grown over sick building syndrome in new facilities such as apartment buildings and schools and new automobiles and other forms of transportation. In addition, attention given to living spaces of those susceptible to diseases related to the environment has greatly increased, and the significance of IAQ for welfare facilities to improve overall well-being is slowly gaining more attention.

Indoor space is created artificially by isolating it from the outdoor environment for more comfortable living conditions. Some of the main attributes of this type of indoor space are heating and cooling, noise, lighting, and air quality. But since people are most sensitive to hot or cold environments, we’ve long been conducting systematic research on thermal comfort in indoor spaces to develop various indices. The HVAC industry implements the results of this research into the design and operation of HVAC systems in buildings. On the one hand, noise and lighting are easier for people to detect, and thus, there are laws and regulations about these factors in indoor spaces.

On the other hand, sensitivity to air quality is greatly different from person to person, resulting in a lack of social recognition of the importance of air quality and insufficient technological development and management directed at this issue.

It’s more than just one that is important. It’s best to implement a range of core technologies to improve IAQ. Ventilation is necessary to remove indoor pollutants such as CO₂, particulate, and gases while supplying fresh air from outdoors. But energy loss can occur through this process, so it is important to configure the ventilation volume properly. In spaces where ventilation is difficult, it is essential to circulate air through high-performance air filters in air purifiers or HVAC purification systems to remove pollutants from the air quickly.

It’s also crucial to prevent viruses and bacteria that are collected in the filter from proliferating with hygiene technology. Because the temperature and humidity influence the HVAC energy consumption, comfort, and proliferation of microorganisms, it is also important to discover the proper conditions for each environment and manage temperature and humidity accordingly.

We use UVC light to directly damage the DNA of viruses and are implementing technology that prevents the proliferation of viruses. We’ve also improved efficacy to 99.99%.* Our UVC-LED technology is safer as it uses no mercury than existing UV lamps is very favorable for product application with its smaller size and longer lifespan (~50,000 hours).

* Uvnano™ is a compound word derived from the words UV and its unit nanometer.
** Based on TÜV Rheinland test conducted according to LG test method in compliance with ISO 20743 : 2007 removing 99.99 of percent of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Klebsiella pneumoniae from the air conditioner blower fan after being exposed to UV LED lights for 4 hours (tested models : PBM13M1UA, PBM13M2UA, PBM13M3UA). The result value is measured at a specific point set in the experiment.
*** This result may differ in actual use conditions of the air conditioning system.

Indoor air quality was conventionally handled through ventilation, and the entire building would operate under the regulated ventilation volume. Through this method, a considerable amount of energy is consumed in the ventilation process. However, areas where pollutants occur and don't occur coexist within a building. Understanding this phenomenon and only operating the ventilation process where it is needed can reduce energy loss.

Recently, it was found that energy consumption could be reduced. in buildings with IoT air quality sensors. Furthermore, the introduction of high-efficiency heat exchange technology and air purification technology might also reduce building energy consumption even more.

Integrated system configurations such as individual ventilation + DOAS, individual ventilation + VRF or FCU, or DOAS + VRF or FCU help reduce infection spread and energy consumption.

Of the many pollutants that occur in a residential environment, some of the most prevalent are oil mist, harmful gases, and odors that result from activities such as cooking. These pollutants occur in large amounts and are harmful to our health. Still, it can be difficult to effectively manage these pollutants due to the rapid decline of the filter lifespan. To resolve this issue, we’re putting efforts into filters with new materials that can handle larger volumes and maintain filtering performance in any environment, as well as airflow solutions that mitigate the spread of pollution.

While we still have a way to go, we are also preparing technology to help manage ventilation loads in line with the passive house and zero energy building trends and advanced energy-conscious air quality control technology that removes CO₂ and generates oxygen.